1. Field of Invention
This invention relates to input apparatus which can be used for computer, typewriter and other similar applications. It is particularly applicable where the user is a non-adult or a human with smaller than adult-sized hands. The keyboard provides fixed smaller than standard spacing to permit children as young as pre-kindergarten to use it as a touch typist. This invention relates to input apparatus and method of use and particularly to a keyboard used as an input device that is scaled to the size of the hands of non-adults and adults having small hands.
2. Description of Prior Art
Previous input apparatus such as computer keyboards and typewriters utilize a specific key spacing that has evolved into a standard. The original qwerty key arrangement is the current accepted standard for keyboard character locations. Other letter layouts such as the Dvork keyboard were developed.
Keyboard standards as to key size and spacing were published Feb. 4, 1989 as American National Standards Institute (ANSI)/Human Factors Society (HFS) Standard No. 100-1988. The Purpose of this standard is stated as "This is a technical standard that specifies conditions that have been established as representing acceptable implementation of human factors engineering principles and practices in the design of visual display terminals (VDTs), associated furniture, and the office environment in which they are placed. Human factors engineering principles and practices are highly application dependent. This technical standard is written for those VDT applications described as text processing, data entry, and data inquiry."
The key spacing described in ANSI/HFS 100 is that the center line distance between the horizontal keys shall be between 18 and 19 mm and the center line distance between the vertical keys shall be between 18 and 21 mm.
Historically in the art the various inventions of input apparatus are based upon the ANSI/HFS 100 standard which is a result of the evolution of the various input apparatus. It is seen that these various input apparatus are attached to various machines such as typewriters and computers. Historically the input apparatus were Designed for the use by adult humans. The training of an individual in the use of these various input apparatus began at the high school level. These high school users were typically 16 years old or older. At this age their hand lengths fall in the 5th percentile of an adult male's hands, meaning they are then suited to using the devices currently provided. The 5th percentile is a size that results from surveying a group of adult males and calculating the frequency in which various sizes occur. The 5th percentile is a number that one would expect 5% of adult males to resemble, on the shorter end of the scale. For example, the 5th percentile of adult males in one study had a hand length of 17.8 cm. The 95th percentile in this study had a hand length of 20.5 cm.
With the advent of the microcomputer there has been an increasing number of children and other than adult scale humans that use various input apparatus. It would be desirable to have an input apparatus which would accomodate their physical sizes, especially their hands in relation to the input apparatus. These users currently in some instances cannot perform routine keystrokes on their input apparatus due to the size and spacing of the keys. A simple, often utilized, command such as control-alternate-delete cannot be easily performed by users with small scaled hands using the devices currently provided.